Actuator block for punch units



L. M. SCHMIDT ACTUATOR BLOCK FOR PUNCH nuns March 31, 1964 Filed May 29, 1962 W A/// W Mwv m h W Arrow/Q M United States Patent 3,127,100 ACTUATOR BLGCK FOR PUNCH UNITS Ludwig Michael Schmidt, Bad Vilhel, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignor to Sperry Rand Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 29, 1962, Ser. No. 198,520 8 Claims. (Cl. 234-115) This invention applies to the field of recording punches, more particularly it relates to a novel punch unit for producing perforated data carrying media.

The recordation of information in the form of one or more apertures selected from a group of possible aperture positions is well known and punched cards or punched tapes are an integral part of modern life. There have been many suggestions for mechanisms to produce.

the physical perforations which represent the information desired to be recorded. While some of these have been acceptable and have found use in commercial equipment, they have all suffered from one or more disadvantages which has prevented complete satisfaction with their performance.

A typical punch unit for simultaneously punching an entire card, i.e. gang punching, consists of a support plate or die which has an aperture in each of the possible positions which may be punched at one time, thus in a 90 column card gang punch unit the die will have 540 such apertures, 6 for each column, and a gang punch unit for 80 column cards will have 960 such apertures, 12 for each column.

The typical punch unit further includes a punch setup and punch actuator unit. This might consist of a punch member for each aperture in the die, which member will pass through the card to be punched and through its associated aperture if a hole is to be punched in that position. When no hole is to be punched in a particular position, the punch member corresponding to that position is displaced preventing it from rupturing the medium. When a hole is to be punched, an interposer is positioned to prevent the punch member from being displaced.

A typical actuator block of the prior art might consist of an individual actuator plate for each actuator. On this plate the actuator lever, set bar, and release bar are fixed. Certain armatures energized by a current pulse emitted by a selecting device such as keyboard key are attracted and prevent any axial movement of the set bars by means of a lever system. Set bars thus locked are in position to prevent the displacement of the punch member so that the data carrying medium, e.g. the punched card, is punched. A group of such actuator plates are combined to form an actuator block to effect simultaneous punching of a group of positions; e.g. a complete column, a complete row, or, by gang punching, a complete card.

The structure of such an actuating block is very complicated since each individual actuator plate must be equipped with numerous levers and links for locking and release. Any replacement of an individual actuator plate within an actuator block is difiicult. Replacement of malfunctioning components on an actuator plate is difficult, too, since their various components are firmly fixed thereto. Additionally, known constructions are not completely satisfactory since they can be used only for ice 90 column punched cards or only for column punched cards, etc. depending on their original construction.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an actuator block without the above mentioned disadvantages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an actuator block which can be quickly and simply modified to punch any desired style of punched card.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an actuator block which is composed of modular actuator plate units.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an actuator unit of simple construction having a minimum of parts.

In accordance with this invention, in a block punch embodiment thereof, a series of actuator plates are provided equal in number to the number of card columns on the card; for example, 80 actuator plates for an 80 column card, 45 actuator plates for a column card, etc. Each actuator plate supports actuators, tilting levers, set bars and a locking spring member. These units are not fixed to the actuator plate but rather are arranged to form two superimposed lines of staggered working parts. The individual parts are so configured as to dispense with a spring release device and these individual actuator plates may be easily assembled to form an actuator block. By selecting a convenient thickness of the actuator plates or by adding corresponding liners or spacers, it is possible to construct an actuator plate for 90 column or 80 column punch cards, for example, out of the same modular units.

Thus, structure constructed according to this invention consists of only a few uniform parts, these parts being supported by, but not fixed to, the actuator plates. Any actuating block may be completed as required by including spacer plates or by removing unnecessary plates. Further, an actuator block built according to this invention no longer requires the entire release mechanism formerly necessary and such actuator block enables the operator to release certain columns at will and to preset such release.

Finally, and not least important, construction of an actuator block in accordance with this invention offers a considerable reduction in manufacturing costs.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become clear when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and the scope of the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows one actuator plate of an actuator block with its supported punch units.

FIG. 2 is a section of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the figures one plate 10 of a punch unit is shown having, in two staggered lines, twelve actuator units each associated with an individual punch member 11. Each actuator unit includes a pair of coils 12 and 13. Coil 12 controls the set or punch permitting position of an associated interposer bar 14, coil 13 controls the release or punch inhibiting position thereof.

Each interposer bar 14 has its fulcrum point shaped to form a projection or nose is and is balanced between coils l2 and 13. An omega shaped toggle, or overcenter spring 16 is located, as shown, at the top of interposer 9 bar 14 and serves to lock the interposer bar in either the punch or no punch position as selected by coils 12 and 13 as soon as interposer bar 14 is sufiiciently displaced thereby.

A nose 17 of each interposer bar 14 is positioned directly above the associated punch 11 as is shown, when the interposer bar is in the punch position. Interposer bar 14a at the left hand side of the figure is shown in the non-punch position as it would be following actuation of coil 13a. As may be seen, nose 17a of interposer bar 14a is removed from its punch position providing an area 18 into which punch 11a associated with that interposer bar may travel, forced by the strength of the record medium.

Springs 19 serve to stabilize punches 11 and also to return a non-punching punch to the normal position after it has been permitted to travel into area 18 following actuation of the no-punch coil 13 associated with that punch.

Actuation of coils 12 and 13 occurs through contacts indicated at 29. Contacts 29 are arranged in groups of 5, each group of contacts controlling the operation of a pair of punches 11 each through its associated coils 13 and 12 and interposer I14. In the embodiment shown the first contact in each group of 5 pins is the common or ground lead for the 2 pairs of electromagnets. The next two contacts control coils I12 and 13 respectively of one of the two punches 11 of a particular pair, and the final two contacts control similar coils 12 and 13 of the other punch of the pair.

It should be noted that each of the actuator units is composed of only a few uniform parts, i.e., punch 11, coils 12 and 13, interposer 14, omega spring 16 and restoring spring 19. It should also be noted that these parts are supported by, but not fixxed to, plate It}. It is obvious how the simplicity and limited number of parts, as Well as their uniformity, contribute to extreme ease of maintenance which, of course, is substantially further increased by the fact that any particular piece may simply be lifted from the plate on which it rests and removed for replacement.

Since each plate contains twelve separately actuable punches 11, a 90 column embodiment of this invention would employ 45 such plates. In a similar manner a punch block for a card of any desired number of columns can be simply constructed by using the appropriate number of identical units shown in FIG. 1. By selecting a suitable thickness for supporting plate 10 and/or using spacers or fillers between plates, at single modular unit can be used to construct any desired punch block. To facilitate assemblage of these modular units into a punch block, grooves or notches are provided, two on each side of plate 10, thereby accurately aligning the modular components of the block.

In a punch operation, after all of the punch actuator units have been appropriately conditioned to permit or prevent punching, a die with the medium to be punched supported thereon, e.g. a record card, is moved upward toward punches 11. Assume for the sake of illustration that one plate of the 45 plate array required for 90 column gang punching is the one illustrated in PEG. 1. Since all but one of the respective noses 17 are directly above associated punch 11, as the record medium is elevated by the die, their associated punches will pass therethrough pe-forating the card. However, interposer bar 1412 has been shifted to the position shown, by actuation of coil 13a, and punch 11a is forced upward by the strength of the record medium, compressing spring 1% in the process, the other end of punch 11a passing into area 18 which is provided by the motion of interposer bar 14a. When the die is lowered, punch 11a will return to the position of the other punches, i.e., the position illustrated, through the restoring action of spring 19a.

While what has been shown and described is believed to be the best mode and preferred embodiment of the invention, modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as will be clear to those skillled in the art, and the invention is intended to be limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A punch block assembly for gang punching a record medium including a plurality of actuator plates, each of said plates supporting a plurality of punch units, each of said units including a resiliently supported punch, each of said plates defining an area for each punch into which said punch will be forced when urged against said record medium, an interposer associated with each of said areas, a first and a second magnet associated with each of said interposers, said punch unit further including a toggle spring associated with each interposer retaining its associated interposer in one of two stable positions, one of said positions blocking said associated area, the other of said positions unblocking said associated area.

2. A punch block assembly for gang punching a record medium including a plurality of actuator plates, each of said plates supporting a plurality of punch units, each of said units including a resiliently supported punch, each of said plates defining an area for each punch into which said punch will be forced when urged against said record medium, an interposer associated with each of said areas, selectively actuable magnetic means for causing said interposer to block said area, and a toggle spring associated with each of said interposers to retain its associated interposer in either a blocking or an unblocking relation to its said associated area until changed by said magnetic means.

3. An assembly for punching a record medium including an actuator plate, said actuator plate supporting a plurality of punch units, each of said units including a resiliently supported punch, said plate defining an area for each of said punches into which said punches will be forced when urged against said record medium, an element having two stable positions associated with each punch and supported by said plate, one of said positions permitting its said associated punch to enter said area, the other of said positions preventing its said associated punch from entering said area, magnetic means associated with each element actuable to selectively place said element in one of its two stable positions, and means for retaining said element in the selected one of said positions until further actuation of said magnetic means.

4. A punch block assembly for gang punching a record medium including a plurality of actuator plates, each of said actuator plates supporting a plurality of punch units, each of said units including a resiliently supported punch, each of said plates defining an area for each punch into which said punch will be forced when urged against said record medium, an interposer bar associated with each of said punches, each interposer bar being pivotably supported on said plate, means permitting said interposer bar to assume one of two stable positions, one of said positions permitting its said associated punch to enter said area and the other of said positions preventing its said associated punch from entering said area, and means associated with each of said interposer bars selectively actuable to place its said associated interposer bar in one of said two stable positions.

5. The assembly defined in claim 4 wherein said last named means includes a first and second coil associated with each interposer bar.

6. The assembly defined in claim 4 wherein each of plates includes at least a notch formed in each side thereof, said notches being positioned on each of said plates whereby, when said plates are assembled to form said actuator block, said notches will define a channel facilitating said assemblage.

7. A punch block assembly for gang punching a record medium including a plurality of actuator plates, each of said actuator plates supporting a plurality of punch units, each of said units including a resiliently supported punch. each of said plates defining an area for each of said punches into which said punches will be forced When said record medium is urged thereagainst, an interposer bar associated with each punch and pivotably supported on said plate, a toggle spring associated with each of said interposer bars and supported by said plate at one end of its associated bar, means associated With each interposer bar actuable to selectively displace said bar from one position to another position, said toggle spring retaining said bar in the selected position until said means is actuated, the other end of said bar being adjacent to one end of said punch when said bar is in one of said two positions, blocking said area.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Weinlich Nov. 4, 1930 Oldenburg et al Aug. 28, 1962 Englund Oct. 23, 1962 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 7 OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 127, 100 1 March 31 v 1964 Ludwig Michael Schmidt It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below Column 3, line 34, for "fixxed" read fixed column line 65, after "of" insert said Signed and sealed this 21st day of July 1964;.

(SEAL) Attest:

ESTON G. JOHNSON EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A PUNCH BLOCK ASSEMBLY FOR GANG PUNCHING A RECORD MEDIUM INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ACTUATOR PLATES, EACH OF SAID PLATES SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF PUNCH UNITS, EACH OF SAID UNITS INCLUDING A RESILIENTLY SUPPORTED PUNCH, EACH OF SAID PLATES DEFINING AN AREA FOR EACH PUNCH INTO WHICH SAID PUNCH WILL BE FORCED WHEN URGED AGAINST SAID RECORD MEDIUM, AN INTERPOSER ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID AREAS, A FIRST AND A SECOND MAGNET ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID INTERPOSERS, SAID PUNCH UNIT FURTHER INCLUDING A TOGGLE SPRING ASSOCIATED WITH EACH INTERPOSER RETAINING ITS ASSOCIATED INTERPOSER IN ONE OF TWO STABLE POSITIONS, ONE OF SAID POSITIONS BLOCKING SAID ASSOCIATED AREA, THE OTHER OF SAID POSITIONS UNBLOCKING SAID ASSOCIATED AREA. 